Randoms on Thursday

How about a little bit of random notes, like back in the ol' days. ;)

1. At the Halloween store yesterday Rylan insisted on bringing home a small skeleton.  He then proceeded to carry it to the park, swinging him in the swings, pushing him down the slides and playing hide and seek in the sandbox with this new friend mr skeleton.

Or as he has affectionately and rather accurately named him, Mr. Bones.  #allboy

2. Makenna is a reading machine.  She reads many books every day without any encouragement and is excelling at school.  Her enthusiasm and eagerness to learn is something that I hope lasts throughout her education years. There's nothing like watching your child grow and learn, and to do it with such zest is al the more better.

3. Speaking of MC...

She is one styling little girl so her attire needs to be just right.   She knows what she wants which sometimes leads to more struggles than I would like to have.  "I don't like that shirt. I don't wear brown pants.  That's boring."  I love her sense of style but I'm thinking we need to pick out our clothes the night before to prevent some morning drama.  However, once we over the drama I absolutely adore her pizazz and sense of confidence.

4. I'm back on the running game, and it now is a normal part of my week. Hallelujah.. Baby steps, but it feels good to be at it for a couple of months now.

5. Scott's company Position : Global just celebrated it's one year anniversary.  I am so very proud of him and all of his hard work and forward thinking.  You Rock Babe.

6. Thankfully Rylan is all recovered and the biggest milestone this week was being able to ride his bike again.  He's in heaven..this boy loves his bike.

7. My most recent candid photo caught with my phone.  L.O.V.E.

8. It's Scandal night...woot!  The one show we are hooked on and has become our Thursday evening date.

Be back soon. xo

Summer stories

Still marching on with our family weekly scrapbook.  Here's the last few weeks of our summer and the start of the new school year. The pages speak for themselves...Enjoy!

Michigan part 2

Apple Picking is a highlight to our Michigan weekend necessitating buying bushels of the fresh picked fruit.  There's no wonder why we bring so many apples home since my kids each eat a couple of apples a day, no kidding. In fact they would consume more but the parental halt is used on a daily basis. 

 We had a beautiful albeit warm day with bright sunshine. Apples were in abundance and the kids were easily able to collect them off the trees.  Honeycrisps, Galas, Golden and Red Delicious, and Jonagolds were among the pickable variety.

 Of course one must try out those apples out in the fields.  I think we all consumed our lunch out there in apples. There is something to be said for fresh fruit.

Good times.  And yes, we brought all those apples home with us, and then some. Yum.

Ha...fooled you!

Rylan has been in a "no picture momma" stage for awhile. I do prefer candid shots, and love just capturing my kids, but sometimes I seek out a portrait and ask them to just smile for me..pretty please.
Lately when he does selectively hear me, I get pictures like this.  Complete cheese with a phony smile. Ummmm...no thanks, Ry Guy.

So with sister away at Irish Dance, I decided to take him outside in the golden light and play a little bit of ball.  Once we were both having a good time, I grabbed my camera and continued to play and wHaLA!  Magic..

Still getting candid shots (my fav!) but with a little added direction of the focus done successfully with a little toss of fun. 

A momma's got to do what a momma's got to do.

And I don't think Rylan minded too much!  ;)

Pure Michigan fun

Each Fall our family escapes to the beautiful land of Michigan for a long weekend full of relaxation, laughs and a whole lot of fun.  We rent a refurbished farm house which has really become our home away from home since we have been to this home for many years now.  We spend a lot of time hanging around the house, enjoying the beautiful yard and the quaint house but always venture out to go apple picking or to the local pumpkin farm and ride our bikes in the Apple Cider Century. It's one of my favorite weekends and this year was no exception.

I'll share photos of Saturday and Sunday but today we'll talk about Monday where we all played hookie from the world, eating through our leftovers, staying in our pj's for as long as we desire and always finding ourselves playing something in the yard.  This year we played kickball, boys against girls, kicking the ball and running to our hand created dog dish bases.  The kids are getting old enough to understand and be able to play in a team sport...well, MC certainly is and we did have to break more than once to dry a few Rylan tears..but we all had a ton of fun.

MC and Ry love their stuffed friends and often carry them in their shirts so this look is not uncommon in the Case world but I love the next several captures.  Be still a momma's heart.

The girls were leading all the way although the boys did put up a nice fight in the last inning.

Such a great time. I know the kids will look back on their childhood and always remember their time spent in Michigan with a happy, grateful heart because this is what life is really all about..enjoying the time spent together creating happy, meaningful memories.  Be back soon with weekend stories!